It's a multi-purpose space where I rent a private room from him. He holds a space called Parkville Sounds where musicians can rehearse or record. Over the course of the pandemic, I relocated back to Hartford, and I acquainted with Stephen Cusano, a good friend of mine. In February 2022, we had a couple of shows in the East Coast, one in Vermont and Connecticut, and so it made sense for the guys to stay a couple of days in Hartford, Connecticut, where I live, and record.

All About Jazz : What was the motivation or the inspiration behind your recent album Poetic? Jonathan Barber: This record was recorded over the pandemic. We spoke to Barber about his music and latest album, Poetic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, while shows were canceled as the world temporarily closed down, Barber and fellow musicians responded with Poetic, an eight track, 'neo- soulish' stream of consciousness where pianist Taber Gable (pianist) replaced his typical keys with a Fender Rhodes, and effulgent musical ideas were presented through alto saxophonist Godwin Louis, bassist Matt Dwonszyk and guitarist Andrew Renfroe. Much of the band met at the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford while Barber was a student. The members of Barber's band, Vision Ahead, are all in their thirties, and have developed a seasoned sonic tête-à-tête from past albums Vision Ahead(self-released 2021) and Legacy Holder(self-released 2020), to his third album, Poetic (self-released 2022). Terence Blanchard chose Barber as the drummer for the soundtrack of HBO Max's Father of the Bride starring Andy Garcia, released in 2022. Modern Drummer Magazine readers voted him the #1 Up and Coming Drummer in 2018. For this reason, the highly sought after drummer/composer/bandleader's name is ringing throughout the world of jazz, as he provides rhythm for artists such as Pat Metheny, Terence Blanchard, Nicholas Payton and Gretchen Parlatojust to name a few. In 2022, nominated Barber as one of the Jazz Drummers of the Year alongside Terri Lyne Carrington, Mark Guiliana, DOMi + JD Beck and Allison Miller. The 33-year-old drummer has the international attention of drummers, amateur and professional, who are gleaning and being inspired by his rhythmic dexterity. Recently, Barber was asked to present the Evans Hybrid Sensory Percussion System, a multi-sensor drum setup, that provides innovative technology for drummers, led by music instrument retail giant Sweetwater and Sunhouse. He's also taking jazz into a futuristic, digimodernism path. Yet this is one example of the ways that Jonathan Barber pulls out a surfeit of ideas from his drum set, which is a distinctive feature of his musical caginess. Pulling out a drum solo with just one high hat, making it an artful and meaningful rhythm to the composition at hand with intentional rhythmic sonority is rare. Jonathan Barber is a force to be reckoned with.

The bride quartet